Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Eurasia Review: News & Analysis

---

• Moscow, Assad And The Crumbling Bridge Spark Possible Change In Russian Strategy – OpEd
• Obamacare To Create Big Brother Process, Says Congressional Chairman – OpEd
• Where’s The Gold? NY Fed Undergoes First-Ever Audit
• Anti-Militant Protests Rock Kashmir’s Neelum Valley
• Olympics: The Greatest Show On Earth – OpEd
• The Mystery Of Rising US Housing Prices – OpEd
• The Flashpoint Of South China Sea: Implications For India – Analysis
• Spain: Olympic Athlete To Enter Seminary After London Games
• Georgia: Parliamentary Election Date Set For October 1
• Georgia On My Mind – OpEd
• Afghanistan: Rockets Attacks Continue In East
• Turkey: Caught Between Syria’s Kurds And A Hard Spot
• Africa: Diversification Is Key To Growth – Analysis
• Murder Of Arafat: How Israeli Quintet Indicted Itself – OpEd
• How Israel’s Siege On Gaza Killed My Sister
• Nigeria’s Oil Production At ‘All-Time High’
• The Nimoo-Bazgo Hydroelectric Power Project: Potential And Future Prospects – Analysis
• Anna Hazare: The Options – Analysis
• Al-Qaeda’s Russian Trace In Spain?
• West Setting Stage For Syria Invasion – OpEd
• Human Rights And The Global Struggle Against Terrorism – OpEd
• US Economy Generates 163,000 Jobs In July; Unemployment Edges Up To 8.3 Percent – Analysis
• US Labor Market Advances, But Jobless Rate Higher
• Syria: 179 Dead As Clashes Reported In Damascus And Aleppo
• US Leaks War-Plan For Iran Attack – OpEd
• EU Agrees To Talk Again With Iran On Nuclear Dispute
• UN Adopts Tough Resolution On Syria
• UN Assembly Condemns Syrian Government

Moscow, Assad And The Crumbling Bridge Spark Possible Change In Russian Strategy – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:47 PM PDT By Adam Michalsk Moscow lately has been kept under great pressure from the U.S. and EU. Criticized by the West on the issue of arms sales, UN Security Council repeated veto and support for the Assad regime, Russia has not only gained a bad image internationally but also received threats for Putin’s stance in Syria. [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Obamacare To Create Big Brother Process, Says Congressional Chairman – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:51 PM PDT President Barack Obama’s health care law, although thousands of pages, was hastily created and frantically pushed through the House and Senate by Democratic majorities before many even had a chance to read its contents. That law is now being implemented — and has raised serious concerns about big government intrusion into American’s private lives, said [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Where’s The Gold? NY Fed Undergoes First-Ever Audit Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:37 PM PDT A massive trove of gold kept under lock and key five stories under Manhattan at the New York Federal Reserve has been undergoing its first audit in history. It could put conspiracy theories – for example, that the gold is a sham – to sleep for good. According to the official record, the US government [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Anti-Militant Protests Rock Kashmir’s Neelum Valley Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:26 PM PDT Anti-militant protests rocked Pakistani Administrated Kashmir’s Neelum Valley when people came out on roads and demanded evacuation of activists of some banned militant outfits from their area. Protesters declared the presence of few armed outsiders as a “threat for peace agreement between India and Pakistan on Kashmir borders.” Eyewitnesses say that local markets were closed [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Olympics: The Greatest Show On Earth – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:48 PM PDT To sum up the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in one word: kitsch. To sum up the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in two words: wonderful kitsch. Honest disclosure: I am an Anglophile. At the age of 15 I started working for an Oxford-educated lawyer. At the office only English was spoken. So [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

The Mystery Of Rising US Housing Prices – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:45 PM PDT “What we are seeing is a bottoming out of home prices. This is a good thing overall for everyone. It means we no longer have that vicious cycle between declining home prices and buyers and sellers remaining on the sidelines.” –Gregory Daco, an economist at IHS Global Insight. Housing prices are going up, but demand [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

The Flashpoint Of South China Sea: Implications For India – Analysis Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:42 PM PDT By Probal Ghosh The Chinese have overcome the phase of “biding time” in their foreign policy and have started adopting aggressive posturing on issues related to their sovereignty especially at sea. Seemingly, the age old Chinese dictum of hiding one’s capabilities and strategically biding time for an opportune moment, which found a revival in Deng’s [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Spain: Olympic Athlete To Enter Seminary After London Games Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:39 PM PDT Carlos Ballve – known as “Litus” to his friends – plays defense on the Spanish field hockey team that is competing in the London 2012 Olympic Games. But as soon as the competition ends, he will head to a Belgium seminary to begin the process of becoming priest. According to the Spanish daily El Pais, [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Georgia: Parliamentary Election Date Set For October 1 Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:37 PM PDT (Civil.Ge) — Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on Monday, October 1, President Saakashvili’s spokesperson said on Wednesday. According to the constitution elections should be held in October, but it was up to the President to set an exact date no later than two months before the voting day. Setting of the election date marks formal [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Georgia On My Mind – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:35 PM PDT I am leaving tomorrow to teach in a week-long economics program for college students in the Republic of Georgia. Georgia was one of the Soviet republics until the Soviet Union dissolved 21 years ago, and the country has made remarkable strides in the two decades since. After a slow start, Georgia instituted major economic reforms [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Afghanistan: Rockets Attacks Continue In East Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:33 PM PDT By Hafizullah Gardesh and Mina Habib Rockets continued to fall on Afghanistan’s Kunar province in July, as arguments raged over who was behind the barrage. Senior Afghan officials pointed the finger at the Pakistani military, saying that only Islamabad had access to the munitions used. Pakistan has denied the allegation, while the United States Defence [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Turkey: Caught Between Syria’s Kurds And A Hard Spot Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:30 PM PDT By Dorian Jones In a display of muscle-flexing, Turkish tanks this week carried out military exercises on the Syrian border, just a few kilometers away from towns that Syrian Kurds had seized from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The seizure of the Kurdish towns sent alarm bells ringing in the Turkish capital. “It took a [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Africa: Diversification Is Key To Growth – Analysis Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:29 PM PDT By Jerome Mwanda Though Africa is urbanizing at a fast rate, agriculture remains the most important sector of the continent’s economy and will have to be its “driving engine out of poverty”, according to a senior United Nations official. Underscoring his point, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella says: Agriculture accounts for [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Murder Of Arafat: How Israeli Quintet Indicted Itself – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:25 PM PDT By Sam Bahour ‘We have to get rid of Arafat.’ — Israeli defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to Prime Minister Sharon caught on an open mic. (Source: Haaretz, Hebrew) “We operated against Ahmed Yassin and Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi [two Palestinian leaders extrajudicially assassinated by Israel] when we thought the time was suitable. On the matter of Arafat [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

How Israel’s Siege On Gaza Killed My Sister Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:21 PM PDT By Yousef M. Aljamal ‘You will become an uncle soon,’ my sister Zeinab told me cheerfully. She didn’t know then what fate had in store for her, for us. In April 2007, as I was getting ready to sit my high school final exams known as tawjihi, one of the most important exams in Palestine, [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Nigeria’s Oil Production At ‘All-Time High’ Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:16 PM PDT By Heather Murdock Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil exporter and 5th largest supplier to the United States, appears to be growing more productive. After months of reports that theft has been costing the oil industry as much as $1 billion a month, and causing most of the oil spills devastating the Niger Delta region, officials say [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

The Nimoo-Bazgo Hydroelectric Power Project: Potential And Future Prospects – Analysis Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:42 PM PDT By Zainab Akhter The Government of Pakistan has decided not to file a lawsuit in the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) over the controversial 45MW Nimoo-Bazgo hydroelectric power project on River Indus in Leh. Pakistan took this decision during the secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan held in New Delhi on 5 July 2012. What [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Anna Hazare: The Options – Analysis Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:35 PM PDT In an excellent analysis on the morning of August 2, 2012, under the title ‘Dismissive Congress In No Mood To Engage With Anna’, Smita Gupta, the ‘Hindu’s’ New Delhi correspondent, wrote: “A year-and-a-half after Mr. Hazare placed the issue of corruption in the public domain, striking a chord with a middle class unhappy with the [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Al-Qaeda’s Russian Trace In Spain? Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:31 PM PDT By Polina Chernitsa The Russian Embassy in Spain said on Friday that it has no information about the detention of suspected Russian terrorists. The Russian diplomats said that neither the Interior Ministry nor the Foreign Ministry of Spain informed about the citizenship of the three detainees who are suspected members of the al-Qaeda terrorist group. [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

West Setting Stage For Syria Invasion – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:47 AM PDT By Ismail Salami The sudden resignation of UN peace envoy Kofi Annan from the peace efforts circle in Syria which evidently materialized under duress from the US government has caused extreme joy in Washington officials who now see this as a sign that the international community is prone to accept that Syrian President Bashar Assad [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Human Rights And The Global Struggle Against Terrorism – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:02 AM PDT By Dr. Gyan Basnet (PhD) Security developments, domestic and international, have in the decade since the world changing events of 11 September 2001 had a huge impact on the traditional discourse concerning civil liberties and human rights. The pressure to counter terrorism has been the driving force behind resurgence in national security rhetoric and the [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

US Economy Generates 163,000 Jobs In July; Unemployment Edges Up To 8.3 Percent – Analysis Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:53 AM PDT The economy added 163,000 jobs in July, its fastest rate of job growth since February. While this number was somewhat higher than consensus predictions, it is consistent with the decline in weekly unemployment claims in recent weeks to levels that are near the low-point for the recovery. The unemployment rate edged up to 8.3 percent. [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

US Labor Market Advances, But Jobless Rate Higher Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:48 AM PDT The U.S. said its labor market improved markedly in July, even as the national jobless rate edged higher. The government reported Friday that employers added 163,000 jobs last month, after three straight months of sluggish hiring, and the most since February. But even as more unemployed workers found new jobs, the country’s unemployment rate increased [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

Syria: 179 Dead As Clashes Reported In Damascus And Aleppo Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:46 AM PDT Syrian regime forces Friday resumed their bombardment of rebel areas in Damascus and Aleppo, the scene of a crucial battle in the war for Syria where the failure of diplomacy pushed the international mediator Kofi Annan to resign. In New York, the UN General Assembly was set to vote on a resolution presented by Arab [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

US Leaks War-Plan For Iran Attack – OpEd Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:33 AM PDT I’ve written regularly here about Israel’s manipulation of U.S. media and public opinion in favor of military intervention against Iran.  This perception management campaign has gone on for years.  But recent days have proven that two can play at this.  The U.S. too has a horse in this race.  It doesn’t want Israel to strike.  [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

EU Agrees To Talk Again With Iran On Nuclear Dispute Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:31 AM PDT (EurActiv) — Chief negotiators for the EU and Iran agreed on Thursday (2 August) to hold more talks about Tehran’s nuclear work, but the European Union gave no sign progress was imminent in the decade-long dispute. Six world powers, represented by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, have sought to persuade Iran to scale back [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

UN Adopts Tough Resolution On Syria Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:28 AM PDT The UN General Assembly has voted in favor of a non-binding resolution on Syria pushed by several Arab states at the UN General Assembly. Before the vote, Russia announced that it does not support the resolution, claiming it is unbalanced. The bill was passed with 133 votes in favor, 12 against, and 31 abstentions. ­ [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

UN Assembly Condemns Syrian Government Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:26 AM PDT The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved a non-bindin g resolution that condemns Syria’s government’s use of heavy weapons in the fight against rebel forces. The vote also criticizes the U.N. Security Council for failing to stem the violence in Syria. The vote came as Syrian activists report more violence in the 17-month uprising [...] To continue reading this article, click on the headline.